Murkowski Issues Health Care Statement

Published: March 22, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, issued the following statement tonight after the House of Representatives passed health care legislation:

“Proponents of the partisan health care bill say that the public will like the bill once it is passed. Will they like the fact that Americans will have to pay four years of taxes before they get the benefits? That’s like making mortgage payments for four years before you can move into your new home. Will they like that the legislation cuts Medicare by more than $500 billion at a time when the program is slated to go broke in seven years? Will they like a half trillion dollars in new taxes to help pay for a massive government expansion of health care? At a time when the nation’s debt has reached historically high levels, and the economy remains in a deep recession with unemployment hovering near 10 percent, this is the wrong bill at the wrong time. At more than $2.6 trillion, the cost of the legislation in its first 10 years of full implementation, we cannot afford it.”